Pirates ink LHP Sanchez to minor league deal

Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed pitcher
Jonathan Sanchez to a minor league contract, the team announced Wednesday. The
deal includes an invitation to the club's spring training camp.

Sanchez threw a no-hitter with San Francisco in 2009 and won a personal-best
13 games while posting a 3.0 earned run average and 205 strikeouts for the
Giants the subsequent season, helping the franchise capture a World Series
title that year. His career has underwent a downturn since, however, and the
left-hander is coming off a dreadful 2012 campaign spent with Kansas City and
Colorado.

The 30-year-old went just 1-9 with an 8.07 ERA over 15 starts last season and
issued 53 walks over a total of 64 2/3 innings pitched. Sanchez was traded by
the Royals to the Rockies in July, but started only three games for Colorado
before being shelved for the year due to a biceps injury the following month.

Over seven major league seasons with the Giants, Royals and Rockies, Sanchez
has compiled a 39-55 overall record with a 4.58 ERA in 189 games (133 starts).